It was “Semi-Final Saturday” at the 2023 Battle of the Foothills as eight drivers running in two heats were trying to survive the semi-final round and looking for a spot in Sunday’s Championship Final Heat. It was a beautiful summer night, a warm 24°C under clear skies, and a thrilling night of chuckwagon racing that was witnessed by a capacity crowd on a perfect night in High River. When it all played out, Chanse Vigen, Jamie Laboucane, Wade Salmond and Jason Glass survived the semi-final round and will comprise the $25,000.00 Championship Final Heat.
Chanse Vigen qualified for Sunday’s final in first place overall by not only posting the fast time of the two semi-final heats with a 1:16.13, but guided his Vertex Building Systems Inc. outfit to best time on the night and the best of the race meet so far from barrel number one in the tenth heat. Aggregate winner Jamie Laboucane from barrel number one in the seventh heat and Wade Salmond from barrel number three in the tenth heat qualified for the Championship Final in second and third place respectively with the second and third best times on the night as well, and Jason Glass, who grabbed the last spot in Sunday’s final from barrel number two in heat number seven, posting the sixth best overall time on the night.
Kris Molle just missed out on the Championship Final heat, finishing just 8 one-hundredths of a second behind Jason Glass. Chad Fike, Evan Salmond and Chance Bensmiller also competed in Saturday’s Semi-Final round where both semi-final heats were penalty free. Kurt Bensmiller and Rae Croteau Jr., who neither made the semi-final round, filled out the top five times on the night, placing fourth and fifth respectively.
The Finals of the Battle of the Foothills can be heard live on Sunday afternoon, July 30, 2023 on WPCA Radio starting 6:00pm Eastern, 5:00pm Central, and 4:00pm Mountain time on Real Country 910am.
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Championship Final Heat (By Qualification Order) |
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1 |
Chanse Vigen |
Vertex Building Systems Inc. |
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2 |
Jamie Laboucane |
Davco Industrial Construction Services |
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3 |
Wade Salmond |
Omega 2000 Cribbing Inc. |
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4 |
Jason Glass |
Birchcliff Energy Ltd. |
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Semi Final Heats |
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Heat #7 |
Driver |
Sponsor |
Total Time |
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1 |
Jamie Laboucane |
Davco Industrial Construction Services |
1:16.18 |
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2 |
Jason Glass |
Birchcliff Energy Ltd. |
1:17.34 |
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3 |
Evan Salmond |
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. |
1:18.34 |
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4 |
Kris Molle |
Spolumbo’s Fine Foods & Deli |
1:17.42 |
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Heat #9 |
Driver |
Sponsor |
Total Time |
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1 |
Chanse Vigen |
Vertex Building Systems Inc. |
1:16.13 |
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2 |
Chad Fike |
West Land Livestock Inc. |
1:18.01 |
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3 |
Wade Salmond |
Omega 2000 Cribbing Inc. |
1:16.45 |
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4 |
Chance Bensmiller |
Calgary Landscape Supplies |
1:19.75 |
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Day 5 Results |
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Rank |
Driver |
Sponsor |
Total Time |
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1 |
Chanse Vigen |
Vertex Building Systems Inc. |
1:16.13 |
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2 |
Jamie Laboucane |
Davco Industrial Construction Services |
1:16.18 |
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3 |
Wade Salmond |
Omega 2000 Cribbing Inc. |
1:16.45 |
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4 |
Kurt Bensmiller |
AIC Construction Ltd. |
1:16.68 |
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5 |
Rae Croteau Jr. |
Cinch Oilfield Hauling Ltd. |
1:16.98 |
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6 |
Jason Glass |
Birchcliff Energy Ltd. |
1:17.34 |
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7 |
Kris Molle |
Spolumbo’s Fine Foods & Deli |
1:17.42 |
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8 |
Ross Knight |
John Barlow MP – Foothills Conservative Association |
1:17.46 |
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9 |
Layne MacGillivray |
Ensign Energy Services Inc. |
1:17.48 |
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10 |
Chad Fike |
West Land Livestock Inc. |
1:18.01 |
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11 |
Obrey Motowylo |
The Co-operators – Crawford Insurance Group Ltd. |
1:18.27 |
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12 |
Evan Salmond |
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. |
1:18.34 |
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13 |
Kirk Sutherland |
Laycraft/Moncrieff Farms |
1:18.64 |
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14 |
Cody Ridsdale |
O’Chiese Business & Investment Centre |
1:18.81 |
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15 |
Brad McMann |
JT Equipment Corp. |
1:18.82 |
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16 |
Derek Aebly |
Jag Flocomponents LLP |
1:18.84 |
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17 |
Dustin Gorst |
Century Downs Racetrack and Casino |
1:18.99 |
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18 |
Dayton Sutherland |
Black Diamond Drywall Ltd. |
1:19.03 |
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19 |
Layne Flad |
Bear Excavating Ltd. |
1:19.16 |
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20 |
Darcy Flad |
Rimrock Feeders |
1:19.26 |
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21 |
Mitch Sutherland |
Canyon Rigging |
1:19.48 |
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22 |
Chance Flad |
Aspen Crossing |
1:19.61 |
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23 |
Chance Bensmiller |
Calgary Landscape Supplies |
1:19.75 |
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24 |
Cruise Bensmiller |
CDM Mechanical Ltd. |
1:19.86 |
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25 |
Doug Irvine |
Ensteel Industries Ltd. |
1:19.88 |
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26 |
Mitch Sutherland (Wagon #2) |
Canyon Rigging |
1:19.98 |
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27 |
Dean Dreger |
Reinhart Oilfield Services |
1:20.00 |
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28 |
Troy Flad |
Mr. Fireplace |
1:20.10 |
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29 |
Chanse Vigen (Wagon #2) |
Integrity Buildings |
1:20.29 |
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30 |
Dayton Sutherland (Wagon #2) |
Black Diamond Drywall Ltd. |
1:20.55 |
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31 |
Todd McCracken |
Silvertip Oilfield Services Inc. |
1:20.64 |
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32 |
Josh Hrynyk |
Energy Auctions Inc. – Brokerage & Auctions |
1:20.85 |
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33 |
Jordie Fike |
Shawne Excavating & Trucking Ltd. |
1:21.03 |
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34 |
Roy Romanow |
CDI International Inc. – Foothills Signs – Canadian Custom Designs Inc. |
1:21.21 |
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35 |
Gage Flad |
Darcy Powlik REMAX Real Estate |
1:21.45 |
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36 |
Kelly Morin |
Alliance Heavy Industries & Biollo Farms |
1:21.57 |
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37 |
Evan Magee |
Farmboy Landscaping & Maintenance |
1:22.67 |
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38 |
Tuff Dreger |
Compass Access Solutions Ltd. |
1:23.08 |
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39 |
Chance Thomson |
Remi’s Mechanical Services Ltd. |
1:23.17 |
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40 |
Troy Dorchester |
PureChem Services |
1:30.17 |
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